luck is opportunity meeting preparation

This is a really exciting time in my life. I am preparing to compete in the National Canadian Powerlifting Championships in Saguenay, Quebec. I will then be travelling to Winnipeg for 2 weeks and then embarking on a road trip around Iceland for 3 weeks. Finally, I will be moving to New Zealand for 23 months as of August 2017. I can’t help but glow. I am finally going do some monumental things in my life, things that I have wanted to do for years.

When I talk to people and discuss my plans, I can’t help but notice their reactions and the words they us. Most somewhere within the vicinity of, ‘Wow, you’re so lucky.’

At first I smiled and agreed, but the more it happened, the less I began to believe in the ‘luck’ of it. By confirming that this trip and life changing experience, were simple luck, discredited the hundreds and thousands of hours of work that went into making my dreams possible. Luck has not helped me:

Go to the gym 5-6 days a week and push myself through grueling training for 2 -3 hours each night

Made me lose 40+ pounds, and change my lifestyle dramatically

Stop binge drinking & eating

Help me qualify to compete at the Canadian Powerlifting Nationals

Helped me meal prep every meal, and make weight for each competition

Save thousands of dollars to afford my travels

Helped me save up to live in another country for 2 years

Land good paying and interesting jobs

& Got me up to go to work each day in the pursuit of my goals

Luck is not a factor in any of my successes or failures. This is purely mine.

I am the first person to admit that I am not perfect. I sometimes spend money on wants and not needs, I’ll take myself out for extravagant meals, have cheat meals, bad workouts, over spend on trips, etc. And while I might stray sometimes from the long-term plan, I’m willing to refocus and not shame myself; to work past the setback and pursue my goals to the very end.

As my Mom would say, I am ‘Paula All or Nothing’. Which is extremely accurate. If I get something into my head I pursue this ‘thing’ whether it be a trip, weight, or lifestyle with everything I have. With all this determination, I need a goal to focus on.

If I say I want to do something, I do it. If I say I want to change, I change. It is as simple as that; I know the cost of work. I also know the amount of satisfaction I receive when I succeed in my ventures and this is why luck is not a factor for me. Luck is simply a notion, a way of devaluing your hard work, preparation and determination.

For example, I wanted to go to Switzerland for 2 weeks to visit a dear friend. I immediately began planning my trip, figuring out the time and money needed. I calculated down to the last penny, and from there I saw what I had to do. Plan and research to the best of my abilities (probably 30 + hours of work was put into it), not miss any work, sell unnecessary items in my home to help fund, set tight budgets on my spending (no clothing, extra food, or unbudgeted items), and not go into credit card debt. All this while still sticking to my 4 training sessions a week, in pursuit of another goal. Within 2 months of saying I wanted to go, I was arriving in Geneva ready for 2 weeks of gallivanting through the Alps, hopping on and off trains, and eating fondue.

So the next time someone says your lucky, just smile. Knowing that your work has paid off. You have paid the price to pursue your goals, through work, sweat, blood and tears and at the end of the day, it all came down to preparation and opportunity.